Navigating the Academic Year: Understanding Hofstra's Semester Dates

Hofstra University structures its academic year around a regular day program organized into two 15-week semesters, along with summer sessions and a mini-semester. Understanding the start and end dates of these semesters is crucial for students, faculty, and visiting students alike. This article provides a comprehensive overview of Hofstra's semester dates, registration periods, and important academic deadlines.

Regular Semesters

The program of regular semesters is based on the 4 x 4 calendar. According to the provided information, Fall 2020 classes began September 24 and concluded (through final exams) December 18, 2020. Spring 2021 classes began February 1 and concluded (through final exams) May 22, 2021.

Classes are usually scheduled for meetings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with 55-minute periods, Monday and Wednesday with 85-minute periods, or on Tuesday and Thursday with 85-minute periods. Evening classes are normally scheduled on Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday combinations. Please note: Below is a list of Hofstra University’s general time periods for class meetings. Not all courses conform to the standard time periods.

Summer Sessions

The University offers a full program of day and evening undergraduate courses during three separate academic sessions, varying in length. No undergraduate student may enroll in one summer session for more than six semester hours, or if three- and four-credit hour courses - seven semester hours. For the three-week session, no undergraduate student may take more than one three- or four-credit course. Exceptions to the above may be granted when special circumstances and the student’s special capacities for the work permit.

Mini-Semester

The emphasis of this mini-semester (an intensive session beginning the first week in January) is on diversity.

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Registration and Important Dates

Registration for the future summer/fall semesters begins in February or early March. Students register for classes through Hofstra Online via the Hofstra portal.

Looking at Spring 2026 as an example, several important dates are highlighted:

February 1, 2026: Last day to register or add a class online.
February 2, 2026: Department permission required to add classes. Override required to register.
February 16 - February 17, 2026: President’s Break - No classes
February 22, 2026: Absolute last day to register or add a class. Last day to drop a course without receiving a “W” grade on transcript.

Students are responsible for adhering to the published deadlines. Please be aware that fees are not refundable once the session begins. Credits for dropped courses are calculated as of the date of notification to the University either by portal drop or written notification to the Registrar's Office.

Academic Calendar and Deadlines

Academic calendars can be found online. Not all courses conform to the standard session dates. For courses shorter than 15 weeks, the student must withdraw within the first 2/3 of the course.

Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks

November 25 - November 29 (for some years, November 26 - November 30): Thanksgiving Break - Classes Not in Session.
December 9 (for some years, December 10): Last day to completely withdraw from all courses - for Undergraduate students.
December 10 (for some years, December 11): Snow/Study/Reading day for Undergraduate classes only. Graduate classes meet.
December 11 (for some years, December 12): Snow/Study/Reading day for Undergraduate classes only.

Enrollment Policies

Once matriculated, current students may not take courses at other educational institutions. Only in rare cases and for exceptional and extenuating circumstances will a request to attend another educational institution be considered. To request a waiver from this policy, please contact the appropriate Dean’s Office, who must approve any waiver in advance. Please note that documentation of the extenuating circumstance(s) may be required. Study Abroad courses taken at other institutions are the exception. institutions may still arrange to have their credits counted toward the completion of Hofstra degree requirements.

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Visiting students are permitted to attend Hofstra University summer session(s) provided they are enrolled at another accredited college or university. Students expecting to transfer summer credits to another institution should get advance official approval of their selection of courses from that college. A special application form for visiting students can be found in the Summer Sessions Bulletin, which is available in the Office of Admission. On request, an official transcript of all credits earned is forwarded to each visiting student’s college after the summer sessions.

Students enrolled at an accredited college or university wishing to attend Hofstra during any session are required to submit written documentation from their home institution confirming their academic good standing, their eligibility to continue classes at their home institution, that there are no pending disciplinary proceedings against them and that they have not been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor charges and there are currently no pending criminal charges against them. Students visiting Hofstra accept full responsibility for University tuition, fees and other applicable charges in effect at Hofstra for the session or semester of attendance. Visiting undergraduate students shall not be permitted to enroll in graduate courses at Hofstra. All visiting students shall be accepted through the Office of Admission. A student may only attend Hofstra for one semester at a maximum credit load of 18 credits.

Additional Academic Information

An undergraduate student credited with 30 semester hours will be ranked as a sophomore, with 60 semester hours, a junior, and 90 semester hours, a senior.
Commencement programs are conducted twice each year, in December and in May. Summer candidates are invited to the December exercises and are listed in that program.
Courses numbered from 1 to 199 are for undergraduates only. Courses numbered 200 and above are for graduate credit. Frank G. Zarb School of Business courses numbered 200 and above are open only to matriculated graduate students in the School of Business and, where appropriate, in The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication and the School of Education of HCLAS. In addition, Zarb School of Business undergraduate students enrolled in a BBA/MBA or BBA/MS program may take two or more graduate-level courses (6-9 s.h.) under advisement as part of the undergraduate program.
Course numbers with A through Z designations usually indicate that as individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter and added to the course number. The course may be taken any number of times as long as there is a different letter designation each time it is taken.
The Degree Audit serves as a tool for advisers and students to determine outstanding program requirements and confirm that students are successfully working towards degree completion. Depending on their catalog years, students may have access to either the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) or the Degree Works audit system. Students entering prior to the 2013-2014 bulletin year will have access to the DARS for their audits. Additionally, any students with the bulletin year 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 will also have access to the Degree Works system. Starting with the 2013-2014 bulletin year, students will only have access to the Degree Works system.
A Distance Learning (DL) course is a course taught entirely online. Hofstra University offers online learning components in more than 1,700 on-campus courses throughout the academic year in most disciplines and majors.
Hofstra’s dual degree (undergraduate/graduate) programs allow you to earn both an undergraduate and graduate degree in less time than if each degree was pursued separately. This can save you the cost of one or more semesters of tuition. Be sure to consult complete program descriptions and admission requirements in this Bulletin.
An elective is a course students choose to take either because of their special interest in it, because it helps to satisfy their intellectual curiosity or because it complements their college degree requirements. An elective course may be outside of a student’s field or discipline, or it may have a direct relationship to his/her degree program.

Hofstra Online and Technology

Blackboard is a Web-based course-management system designed to allow students and faculty to participate in classes delivered online (distance learning) or use online materials and activities to complement face-to-face teaching. Students register for classes through Hofstra Online via the Hofstra portal. Students can request copies of their official transcript free of charge online through Hofstra Online via the Hofstra portal.

Part-Time Students

Hofstra University encourages the enrollment of undergraduate part-time students who vary greatly in age and educational objectives. Primarily, these students are older than the typical full-time day undergraduates, have major responsibilities outside the University, have gaps between their high school graduation and attending college, or between attending one college and another. They attend college on a part-time basis and attend in the evening. There are, however, many variations to these patterns and individual needs-such as the needs of those who must attend during the day, can be accommodated. Part-time students with no previous college credits generally require six to eight years to complete all requirements for bachelor’s degrees. They usually enroll in two or three courses, totaling six to nine semester hours of credit, each semester. Part-time evening students are advised to limit their program to nine semester hours in the spring and fall semesters except by special permission. Requests for information or course schedules for evening programs should be directed to the Office of Admission. Semester schedules include pertinent information on admission and registration procedures.

Semester Hours

A semester hour is a term used to describe the number of credits received by the student for successfully completing a specific course. It should be noted that the semester-hour credit given a course is not necessarily equal to the actual number of hours spent in the class. Most courses are given credit of between two and four semester hours; a full-time student normally registers for 15 or 17 semester hours, consisting of five or six courses for each semester, chosen with the aid of a faculty adviser.

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Academic Requirements

Undergraduate students are expected to satisfy those requirements specified in the Bulletin of their year of first registration at the University. Students who have no record of attendance at Hofstra University for a period of 15 months or more must follow the requirements set forth in the Bulletin in effect when they are readmitted. Any student, however, may elect once during his or her undergraduate studies to follow all the requirements specified in a subsequent Bulletin, provided the Office of Academic Records is notified prior to the semester of graduation. No exceptions regarding the requirements set forth in any Bulletin may be made by the students or by the faculty without the written approval of the dean of the academic unit or of the provost. This policy refers to academic requirements such as degree and major requirements. Other procedures and policies, such as the grading system, may be changed through the University’s governance process.

Liberal Arts Courses

In support of the HCLAS Mission Statement, a liberal arts course develops critical thinking skills and the ability to access and analyze information and ideas in a technologically sophisticated world. Students also master the oral and written communication skills required for active ethical participation in a society characterized by increasing interdependence and diversity. Liberal arts courses broadly cultivate the moral judgment, aesthetic sensibilities, and emotional maturity of students to prepare them for lives of social responsibility as members of their local, national, and global communities. It is an underlying assumption of all liberal arts courses that we must make ourselves aware of, and evaluate, the ends toward which we apply our intellectual efforts. However, while techniques of communication and the applications of theory to practice are crucial objectives of a liberal arts education, courses which emphasize skills as pre-professional or vocational training are not considered liberal arts courses.

Emergency Notification and Contact Information

A comprehensive notification structure to alert the campus community in the event of an emergency. Sign up online at My.Hofstra.edu by providing your personal telephone contact information. Students must report a change of their home or local address to the Office of Academic Records immediately. In order to facilitate orientation and advisement of a student to his or her new major, students must report any change in their major, minor, specialization, concentration, or degree on the official Change of Study Form to the Office of Academic Records. Any change requires a signature from the new department indicating that the student has notified the new department and has been made aware of all requirements.

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